The Welsh Government has been urged to listen to farmers and make changes to the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) before it is too late.
Speaking at the Royal Welsh Show, NFU Cymru warned proposals for farmers to commit to 10 per cent tree cover and 10 per cent habitat cover on their land will ‘drive many Welsh farmers out of business'.
NFU Cymru president Aled Jones said he ‘would hate for the show to be defined by trees alone', but believed raising attention around the issue and the concerns of his members across Wales was necessary.
10% tree target
Many farmers feared they would be ‘alienated' from SFS as they were unable to meet the threshold, with others unable to ‘justify' giving 10 per cent of productive land to tree planting. Others speculated about the Welsh Government's intentions on possibly reducing livestock numbers.
Mr Jones wanted to reaffirm his position after media headlines on the eve of the show questioned the union's backing of SFS altogether.
"We are not advocating farmers to boycott the SFS, we want every farmer to be involved," he said. But he reiterated the Welsh Government would ‘have to budge' if it wanted most Welsh farmers to get on board, warning it could not effect change if only 50 per cent of farmers signed up."
The Welsh Government has set a target of planting 43,000 hectares of new woodland by 2030.
Sustainable Farming Scheme
"I have stressed to Welsh Government that there are farmers who can contribute a little to the tree planting target, but at the moment still find themselves barred from SFS," said Mr Jones, adding there was no universal pattern of farming systems and that needed to be taken into consideration.
Speaking on an NFU Cymru panel focusing on SFS (July 25), upland beef and sheep farmer in the Brecon Beacons, Garry Williams, made a personal and emotional address to Rural Affairs Minister Lesley Griffiths.
Flexibility
He asked for ‘greater flexibility' on the 10 per cent tree target and shared his worries for the future if the proposal did not change.
He said the ‘massive environmental objective pressures the Government is under' was threatening food production and food security.
He also warned the Minister to be careful of ‘blanket planting' especially in upland areas which could cause ‘large-scale fires'.
Farmers Union of Wales president Ian Rickman said on-farm renewables should play a part in the new scheme as part of a mix of climate mitigation measures which did not undermine agricultural land or food production.
Tenant farmers
Tenant dairy farmer Jeff Evans, West Wales, said he would find it difficult to sign up to the current scheme, adding: "Planting trees on productive land will only devalue the land, so landlords will be reluctant for tenants to sign up to long-term environmental schemes."
Ms Griffiths reiterated she wanted ‘as many farmers as possible to be part of SFS' and will listen to farmer feedback going into the final stage of the consultation.
Welsh Government
When it comes to the agricultural budget, she reassured farmers the ‘final consultation would have payment methodology in it.'
First Minister Mark Drakeford said tree planting was an ‘inescapable part of the future' and the Government wanted farmers to be ‘in the lead' and to pay them to do it. He added they would continue to communicate with unions and farmers.
"What we will not be able to do is step back from that basic principle - Wales will need more trees," he said.
Some farmers felt it chimed with a broader political agenda to ‘reduce livestock farming'.
Livestock numbers
Farmers Guardian has seen a civil service document which stated, ‘the elephant in the room is always livestock numbers', suggesting destocking was going to have to happen in some, if not all, areas.
Ms Griffiths denied the claims and said she had not seen those documents.
She said: "There is no agenda but climate change adaptation needs to be at the forefront of everyone's mind in different ways.
